All quiet in disputed South China Sea

By Todd Crowell

TOKYO

Philippine fishermen have been turned away from traditional grounds near the disputed Scarborough Shoal by Chinese Coast Guard vessels as they sought to assert fishing rights confirmed earlier this week by an international tribunal.

Just days after the landmark decision of the five-member Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague was published July 12, it was business as usual in the South China Sea -- parts of which Manila calls the West Philippine Sea.

The tribunal, in its 400-plus page ruling, had specifically concluded that the Philippines had the legal right to fish in these waters, which are part of the country’s 200-nautical mile exclusive economic zone.

The Chinese foreign ministry had that same day affirmed its longtime position that the ruling by the tribunal was “null and void”, insisting nothing was changed by the decision.

The tribunal came down firmly on the side of Manila in the case of Philippines vs. China, declaring that Beijing’s claims to sovereignty over the waters had no legal foundation whatsoever.

It also determined that the reefs and atolls that make up the region of the Spratly island chain, including those substantially enlarged through reclamation, were “rocks” and therefore not entitled to exclusive resources zones.

However, it did not make any judgments as to who owned what in the Spratlys among the six nations -- including China -- that claim one or more as being an inherent part of their country.

Curiously, the strongest objection to the tribunal ruling came from Taiwan, which complained that it had not been invited to testify at the tribunal and in general supports Beijing’s position on Chinese sovereignty over the sea.

Taipei was especially miffed because the court decreed the one feature it occupies in the Spratlys is a “rock” and can’t have a resource zone.

Itu Aba -- also known as Taiping -- was the largest natural feature in the Spratlys and widely thought to qualify as an island.

So far, Beijing’s reaction to the tribunal’s ruling has been limited to verbal salvoes, although two civilian jets flew from China’s southern Hainan island to land on airstrips built on reclaimed land at the Subi and Mischief reefs Wednesday.

It is, however, also worth noting what China has not done -- at least not yet.

It has not imposed an Air Defense Identification Zone over the Spratlys or anywhere else in the resource-rich sea -- one of the world's busiest shipping lanes, believed to be sitting atop huge oil and gas deposits.

It has not withdrawn from the United Nation’s Convention on the Law of the Sea as, say, North Korea pulled out of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. It also hasn’t begun to reclaim land and militarize the Scarborough Shoal.

Meanwhile, China has cracked down on nationalist Internet users who usually spring up any time there are feelings of the country’s honor being besmirched.

There have also been no protests outside the Philippine Embassy in Beijing.

One reason may be that the Philippines’ new president, Rodrigo Duterte, seems open to bilateral negotiations.

He reportedly has asked former President Fidel Ramos, 88, to visit Beijing unless he begs off due to age.

China’s Foreign Ministry spokesman, Lu Kang, hinted that Beijing could still “make a decisive response” if anyone seeks to take actions that undermine China’s security based on the tribunal’s decision.

For the meantime, however, all is quiet in the South China Sea.